Hand Seal
are used to perform many ninjutsu, genjutsu, and other secret arts other than taijutsu. The exact amount of chakra necessary to perform a jutsu is manipulated through hand seals.Naruto chapter 90, page 05 There are different sequences of hand seals for every technique, requiring memorization. While techniques may require a number of hand seals to work, a skilled ninja can use less or even one to perform the same technique. An example of this is the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique, which requires a total of 44 hand seals to activate.Naruto chapter 15, page 08 Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, however, just needed to use one hand seal to complete the technique, a testament to his skill.Naruto chapter 120, page 04 Although rare, it is possible for a shinobi to be able to do hand seals with just one hand. The only shinobi so far capable of this are Haku and Guren. Basic Seals There are twelve basic seals, each one named after an animal of the Chinese zodiac. # # # : This hand seal is commonly affiliated with the movie only Ice Release and with Danzo's Wind Release. # # # : This hand seal is commonly affiliated with Fire Release.Naruto chapter 5, page 07 # : This hand seal is commonly affiliated with Earth ReleaseNaruto chapter 361, page 13 and with Wood Release. # : This hand seal is commonly affiliated with the special Shadow Techniques of the Nara clan. # # # # Other Hand seals Besides the twelve basic hand seals, there are unique hand seals used for certain techniques. These hand seals are rarely seen, and can be considered unique to specific jutsu. Tiger/Ram with one hand Although it's unknown if this is a seal, this motion is often used to concentrate chakra, and many shinobi are seen initiating simple, basic jutsu after making this seal. Deidara also often used this when he detonated his Exploding Clay. Clap hands This seal is a special seal that is used in several techniques. The user simply claps their hands together. Slam ground Used in techniques such as the Summoning Technique, this is more of an initiation of a jutsu than a seal. The user slams the surface that is affected. Half Tiger No official name, it resembles the Tiger seal, but only the index fingers are raised. It is used in many different jutsu. Haku's Seals The seals used for Haku's Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death, are quite different than the basic twelve seals, and are also performed with one hand. The Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors jutsu can be done with a special seal, which resembles Tiger with middle fingers crossed over the index fingers. Mind Technique Seals The Yamanaka clan uses different seals to activate their techniques, such as the Mind Body Switch TechniqueNaruto chapter 55, page 11 and the Mind Body Disturbance Technique.Naruto chapter 137, page 10 Another seal was used to release the Mind Body Switch Technique and return to the original body. Shadow Clone Seal The Shadow Clone Technique seal is different from the basic twelve seals. Index and middle fingers from both hands are crossed.Naruto chapter 1, page 49 Tornado Lightning Seal In Naruto the Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel, Ranke uses an unknown hand seal to activate her Tornado Lightning. Mystical Sealing Seal The Mystical Sealing Technique used by Shion uses a numerous amount of different seals with different names as followed: Hatsu → Jin → Kai → Min → Shin → Gan → Reppyo → Shouzen → Mika → Dan → Raku → Shou → Fu → Sai → Dan → Gika → Ragu → Bagi Jin Seal This is another one of the seals that are used in normal techniques, yet isn't one of the basic twelve seals. The seal is used in techniques such as the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique. It is unknown how this seal is formed. Unknown Common Seal The Akimichi clan use a certain seal in their Multi-Size Technique, which also resembles the Bird seal from frontal view. (However, it is confirmed that this is a different seal, as the Bird seal has been seen in a side view in techniques such as Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique and the Shadow Sewing Technique.) The index and little fingers are raised up, while the middle and ring fingers are folded down and interlocked. Sasuke also used this seal, or a very similar seal, in his battle with Deidara, when he used either Hidden Shadow Snake Hands or Snake Authority Spell. Hiruko's Storm Release Seal In Naruto Shippūden 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire, Hiruko uses a special seal for the Storm Release: Thunder Cloud Inner Wave, which resembles Tiger, but only with the middle fingers raised. Fūma Curse Mandala Seals The Fūma Clan used various unknown hand seals for their Hiden jutsu, the Curse Mandala. Twin Snakes Mutual Death Seal A hand seal involving both the user and the enemy is used in the kinjutsu Twin Snakes Mutual Death. References Category:Chakra